This thing called retirement...

The pictures above tell quite the story! 30 years of Marine Corps service, and the transition slowly begins to a new career.

Brian attended his last retirement seminar last week. It was, by far, the best he has been to as far as preparing him for what to expect on the outside. It was also quite an eye opener for us as for how spoiled we have been with Brian wearing uniforms. This seminar recommended he spend NO LESS than $800.00 for a complete suit. $800.00?? SERIOUSLY?? Holy cow...my entire closet doesn't total $800.00!!

We are learning quite a bit about how different life truly is outside the Marine Corps. I'm very happy we moved off base when we did. I'm not sure my heart could have withstood the shock of learning all we are learning in addition to the shock of a water and electric bill! Brian and I have discussed numerous times whether or not we should buy a house here. I know this is a buyers market, but both of us really struggle with paying upwards of $300,000 for a house with NO land. I am so thankful we took the time to rent before we purchase. We are learning quite a bit about what we do and don't want in a house. First and foremost, we do NOT want to deal with having a HOA. (Home-owners association) Unfortunately, the majority of properties where we would choose to live have HOA's. We have learned that while hard wood floors are indeed, beautiful, they are a nightmare when you have dogs. Finally, while a sun room is lovely in theory, it is a nightmare in reality. During the winter the bottom half of the house stays freezing cold, and during the summer it stays boiling hot. One final thought that stays with us constantly is that we really don't even want to stay in California. We will, of course, stay here until after Alyssa graduates from high school, but after that, we just don't have any desire to stay here. The cost of living is insane.

All in all this is quite a learning experience. Brian is narrowing down what it is he would like to do for his next career. He has several networking contacts, and a strong idea of the direction he would like to pursue. He is about 7 classes from graduating with his Bachelor's Degree, and I am so proud of how hard he has worked. He has been simply amazing, juggling the Marine Corps, school and all of us and our crazy lives. I definitely married quite an amazing man!